Railway-tie.



PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE EDWARDS, 0F SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-TIE.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented July 2, 1912.

Application led February 24, 1912. Serial No. 679,596.

To all whom, t may concern.:

Be it known that I, GEORGE EDWARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain` new and useful Improvements in Railway- Ties; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to railway ties and has for an object to provide a tie embodying improved mea-ns for gripping the rail, with improved means for augmenting the gripping action as pressure is applied to the rail.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tie foruse within mines or located upon any other solid, unyielding base, such ties embodying clamping members extending below the tie into posit-ion to engage the base and to clamp such clamping members more firmly upon the rail as pressure is applied to such rail.

A further obj ect of the invention is to provide a tie having rigid abutments carried thereon positioned to engage the inner edge of the flanges of the rails with outer abutments hinged to the tie having spurs extending below the tie into engagement with the supporting base.

Vith these and other objects in view the invention comprises certain novel constructions, combinations and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fragment of a railway track embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one of the ties comprised `in the present invention. Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of one of the ties. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of one of the ties embodying means for joining adjacent ends of rails. Fig. 5 is a perspectlve view of one of the hinged clamping members.- Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the hinged clamping members employed at rail joints.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The improved Vtie which forms the subject matter of this application is intended for use in mines and like places where a firm, unyielding base or foundation is available and in which the tracks are subject to periodical changes of location so that they are not permanently secured to such base.

As shown in the drawings, the tic proper 10 comprises a straight flat strip of material, preferably metal, having abutments 1l rigidly and permanently secured to such ties positioned to engage the inner edges of the flanges of the rails 12. The outer extremities of the ties are bifurcated as indicated in the drawing and between the spaced terminals'gripping blocks 13 are hinged in any approved manner as by the bolts 14. The formation of the gripping member is such that a beak 15 is provided extending slightly below the lines of the tie in normal position and adapted to bear upon the floor of the mine or other unyielding base. It will be apparent that as weight is applied to the rails 12 such weight will be carried almost wholly upon the beaks 15 so that the clamping members 13 are given an augmented clamping action upon the outer flanges of the rails 12.

To provide for properly clamping the adjacent ends of rails a modified form of gripping member 1G is employed having a wider engaging face 17 provided with holes 18 to receive bolts 19 which pass through the ends of the rails 12. The clamping member 16 is provided with a beak 15 which engages the floor in the same manner as the beak 15 of the clamping members 13.

It is well known that in mines the cutting out of sufiicient material from the roof to permit the passage of cars is a mattei' of considerable expense and every inch added to the amount required to be cut out adds very considerably to such expense. The present tie is adapted to be made up of thin metallic strips which require very much less vertical space than the ties of wood or other material ordinarily in use for such purposes. The construction and hinging of the clamping members as shown permits the use of such thin metal without detracting from the member adapted to lie on the ground and cooperate with the fulcruming means to clamp y ysaid rails to said faces, beaks formed With the lower extremities of said clamping memthe outer flange of the rail against the plate and the inner flange thereofy against the abutment.

2. A tie for railroad rails comprising a flat plate, a pair of oppositely disposed abutp spective abutments.

ments integralI therewith, slots centrally of the respective ends ofsaid plate clamping members fulcrumed in the slots, an upwardly extending engaging face formed With the upper extremities of said clamping f members respectively a plurality of apertures in each of said` faces adapted toregister with corresponding apertures'in theends Copies ofv this patent may he obtained` for of two adjacent rails for binding the ends of bers adapted to lie on the ground and c0- operate With the fulcruming means to clamp the inner fianges of the rails against the re- Intestimony whereof I affix my signature 1n presence of two Witnesses.

W. 7. BAJELOI@4 L.- P. WDEMAN.

five cents each, by addressing'the' Gommissi'e'nerof Patents, Washington, D'. C. 

